The present invention relates to round balers and more specifically relates to bale-forming belt support rolls for such balers.
When baling with a typical large round baler, it is common for the exterior surface of the bale to contact bale-forming belts engaged with a rotating roll adjacent the respective areas where the opposite end portions of the roller goes through the sheet material forming the opposite side walls of the baling chamber. U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,282 granted to Anstey on Jan. 31, 1984 discloses a large round baler having a roll of this type. A disadvantage of this type of structure is that crop material can become wedged or packed between the outside diameter of the roll and the side sheet surface defining the holes. This wedging can cause a host of problems including excess bearing load, wear on the roll, and high friction. In addition, crop which gets outside of the side sheets is subject to getting wrapped or wedged against the bearings possibly causing them to fail prematurely.